Bomb Explosion in Jerusalem Kills one, Injures 38

A bomb explosion killed a 59 year-old woman and wounded 38 at around 3:00 p.m. in Jerusalem today.

The bomb went off near the International Convention Center and central bus terminal. According to police, the explosive device was hidden in a telephone booth near a bus stop.

Mayor Nir Bareket told Israeli news website YNET, that the outcome could have been worse had it not been for the quick reaction of a man who was working at a store near the bus stop. David Moyal noticed the suspicious object and warned people to stay away. But as he called to inform the police, the bomb exploded.

This is the first bomb to explode in Jerusalem after seven years of relative quiet. So far, no militant organization has taken responsibility for the explosion.

[Yitzhak Aharonovitch, Israel's Internal Security Minister]:

"We can tie together anything to anything, at this moment I say, at this point in time, I do not tie anything together. An attack took place in Itamar, there is the up scaling we are witnessing in the past days in the south, and at this time we are talking about a terror attack. I cannot tie these events together based on a preliminary examination, and I am not tying the events together."

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad condemned the attack saying this is a shameful act that harms the Palestinian struggle to achieve independence in peaceful ways.